By Michael Wadley
My friend Mara
Thorne (who happens to be a HR specialist) published
this story recently. It’s all about the ordeal endured by Ms Crisp, an
employee with a mental health condition, at the hands of the food company
Iceland.
In essence, Iceland
harassed Ms Crisp because of her condition. That was the finding of the
industrial tribunal (you can read Personnel Today’s report of the tribunal
outcomes here).
The harassment
included one or two senior managers from the firm actually mocking her
condition.
What’s more, it
looks to me as if the company’s HR processes and procedures were as loose as a
clown’s pocket – unforgivable for such a mature business and brand.
Interestingly, the
tribunal made it clear that they expect senior managers in the company to
attend disability awareness training with a focus on mental health issues.
Good. Chop chop you
lot I say. And turn your mobiles off while you’re there.
What disturbed me
most about this case was the bit about the area manager and the HR contact
leaving that spiteful voicemail - albeit accidentally.
It would be all too
easy to suggest that they could do with ‘training on how to use office
telephones’ or ‘lessons on when to stay
schtum”.
Because having such
a profoundly dismal attitude in the first place is the true problem in need of
a remedy. Let’s hope the training, and the painful publicity generated, is
sufficient to change some attitudes.
Ok that’s enough
moral high-ground ranting from me. But what a dreadful, dreadful story.
